Mass Effect: Andromeda - March 21, 2017

  • Thread starter Techy
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I've never played a Mass Effect game before, but I'm really looking forward to this. As I understand it, it's a role-playing game where the focus is on exploring new worlds in an uncharted galaxy. That holds a lot of appeal for me; I love games that encourage and reward exploration. It's like the Rock of Ravatogh in Final Fantasy XV, or the Boston city skyline in Fallout 4 - you can practically see them in the distance from the start of the game, and you can walk to them if you have a mind to.
 
Mass Effect pulled me in to the "Action-RPG/RPG" genre, before that I tried a few RPG's (Oblivion), but they could not draw to the genre at the time.
In 2009 I gave it another try, didn't know anything about the game, but the short description peaked my interest.

Wasn't a great fan of the inventory management, but the story and the lore blew me away and I was hooked to the franchise immediately.
Luckily I didn't have to wait as ME2 was released in 2010.
ME3 was also great, the ending was indeed debatable, but the rest of the game is good.

The only franchise I've completely played through multiple times.

Been avoiding most info around the game, so not to have too much things spoiled.
Can't wait to dive back in the ME universe with new characters, new environments and new story.
 
doblocruiser
You can currently get Mass Effect 2 for free. Maybe worth a try.
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I'm not really interested in jumping into the middle chapter of a trilogy. I'm currently hanging out for the Final Fantasy XV DLC, and awaiting Ghost Recon: Wildlands as well as Andromeda. And there's Red Dead Redemption 2 coming later in the year.
 
The jump-jet and squad-based play - especially setting up group strikes - give the game a real Final Fantasy XV vibe. Hopefully things are a little better-balanced here.
 
I'm hoping this is something like The Witcher 3 in space but with deeper combat mechanics, if it is then it will be incredible. I'm going to stay away from footage until the reviews come out, I came across this yesterday though for anyone interested in it.

 
I'm super excited for this game. The Mass Effect series is one of my favorite video game series of all time and I can't wait to see what they did with a whole new galaxy. I hope the story is as engaging as the past three since that's where Mass Effect always seemed to shine (it wasn't the combat or the UI that's for sure).

I am a little disappointed I won't know what happens in a post-Shepard world though. During my play-through of the trilogy he survived in the end and I was kind of hoping to see how that would play out.
 
Some footage of PeeBee loyalty mission (spoiler-free)
A bit of warning though: The dialogue is cringe-worthy



To be fair, this is pre-release footage, so maybe Bioware ironed out the cringe chatter.
 
Part 3, Exploration



I'm getting flashbacks to the Mako and exploring those desolate planets in ME1.
 
I liked ME2 and 3 a lot and 2 is my favorite. This new version does not really attract me. The main characters are not great and that short haired blond is absolutely dreadful. I like the Krogan but the Assari is boring.

I can't seem to be getting attached to this one. Maybe I'll pick it up on sale and see what it does to me.
 
I've seen a few videos of this and I think it looks pretty good, having not played a Mass Effect game before. May pick it up in a few weeks if it ends up being as good as it looks.
 
As and avid fan of the ME series having played the first 3 games, I am taking a wait and see approach with this game, especially after the dismal ending of ME3. I hope ME4 wins me back to the series, I'll be keeping an eye on the reviews and feedback. I do like that you can customize the Nomad now and it seems like they are beefing up the multiplayer even more than ME3 (which was quite good ) and I heard they added a Co-op mode. My only apprehension is what the plot and story will be like, I hope they don't ruin it.
 
So far those playing the early release have mixed reviews on it. I'm guessing it won't be as good as the original trilogy, but given how lackluster ME1 was I'm guessing if they do spawn this into a trilogy it'll get better.
 
Joey D
So far those playing the early release have mixed reviews on it. I'm guessing it won't be as good as the original trilogy, but given how lackluster ME1 was I'm guessing if they do spawn this into a trilogy it'll get better.
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I've read some pretty negative stuff on it, but it's hard to say how much is true or not yet. I've seen and read some stuff on how the combat is ok, but the story and facial expression department is lacking. I've also read that it's really glitchy. Isn't this a different development team then those who worked on the first 3? I'm definitely not going to pre-order it.

ME1 was so great because it was so different then anything else at the time. I loved the first two games. I hope this ones great, but I am keeping my expectations in check.
 
prousonhairy
I've read some pretty negative stuff on it, but it's hard to say how much is true or not yet. I've seen and read some stuff on how the combat is ok, but the story and facial expression department is lacking. I've also read that it's really glitchy. Isn't this a different development team then those who worked on the first 3? I'm definitely not going to pre-order it.

ME1 was so great because it was so different then anything else at the time. I loved the first two games. I hope this ones great, but I am keeping my expectations in check.
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AFAIK Andromeda is made by a completely different Bioware, Bioware Montreal. Most of the leads from the original trilogy left, some of the original team also left during development of Andromeda. So now EA has their hands all over the process.

edit:

exposition of Andromeda's lackluster animations
http://www.pcgamer.com/the-internet-is-brutally-mocking-mass-effect-andromedas-animations/
 
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Skyrim and Fallout 4 had terrible facial animations and a tonne of glitches but none of that bothered me because the games were fun.

A lot of the criticism directed at MEA seems to stem from people that are still disappointed over the ending of ME3 and EA's acquisition of Bioware.
 
Peasantslayer
Skyrim and Fallout 4 had terrible facial animations and a tonne of glitches but none of that bothered me because the games were fun.
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As much as I agree with this (that a game can still be great with flaws), this is the 4th game in the series, with the first one being made about a decade ago. Despite a different team and new engine, there is almost no excuse that a game made in 2017 has poor facial animations. Especially a game that relies so heavily on character interaction and dialogue. That's why I think people are upset about it.

But anyways, while everyone's getting hung up on this animation stuff, I'm anxious to see how the combat is, how the environments look and the plot. I think some people are forgetting that the original trilogy games also had questionable facial animations. The first game, even, was very basic compared to 2 and 3, and I would say it was the best one.
 
SPhilli911
As much as I agree with this (that a game can still be great with flaws), this is the 4th game in the series, with the first one being made about a decade ago. Despite a different team and new engine, there is almost no excuse that a game made in 2017 has poor facial animations. Especially a game that relies so heavily on character interaction and dialogue. That's why I think people are upset about it.

But anyways, while everyone's getting hung up on this animation stuff, I'm anxious to see how the combat is, how the environments look and the plot. I think some people are forgetting that the original trilogy games also had questionable facial animations. The first game, even, was very basic compared to 2 and 3, and I would say it was the best one.
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It probably could have used a delay but animations like this are to be expected imo for a huge open-world game with a character creator and multiple races that require completely different facial rigs.

Personally my biggest concern is performance, it looks pretty bad on the standard Xbox One even though I read that it is running at a sub 900p dynamic resolution.
 
Techy
AFAIK Andromeda is made by a completely different Bioware, Bioware Montreal. Most of the leads from the original trilogy left, some of the original team also left during development of Andromeda. So now EA has their hands all over the process.

edit:

exposition of Andromeda's lackluster animations
http://www.pcgamer.com/the-internet-is-brutally-mocking-mass-effect-andromedas-animations/
Click to expand...

This is what is the most concerning to me, I seriously hope they don't ruin a great series. Remember the Matrix movies? ME 1-3 reminds me very much of those movies. The first one was really great, had a great concept with the whole hacker/matrix thing. Matrix Reloaded was still a pretty good movie and then there was the 3rd movie, it started off ok and by the end, the whole entire trilogy was ruined along with the Wachowski Bro's reputation to make good films. They laid a turd big enough that I can't even watch the original Matrix with a straight face anymore.

In regards to EA Montreal taking over and some or most of the original talent behind the series leaving, this what happens to great studios when the Devil EA buys them out and takes over. I am a huge fan of the original Bioware not EA. I played and beat Jade Empire 3 times, got 3 different endings, loved every minute of it. I also loved the original Dragon Age, not to the same extent as Mass Effect or Jade Empire but I enjoyed it enough to put in over 100 hours. Anyway my fingers are crossed that they don't screw this up but I'm not going to hold my breath either, I refuse to get hyped about this game even though I enjoyed some of the trailers very much (but anyone came make a trailer look good as we all know).
 
Surprised about all the negativity, made me wanna pre-order it. I noticed that the multi-player seems much more difficult though... and it sucks how many characters are missing online.
 
I was willing to overlook most of the issues with the game. If it was a re-tread of the original trilogy, that's fine; I never played the original trilogy, so it would all be new to me. If it's not a particularly pretty game, that's also okay so long as it plays well. Given the choice between an ugly game that plays well and a pretty game that plays poorly, I'll always pick the former. But in this day and age, performance issues are practically inexcusable, especially from a major studio with a triple-A title.

I guess I'll cancel my pre-order - I only put $10 down on it - and instead sink it into a season pass for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands.
 
I'll probably still get it, I haven't pre-ordered it. The combat is supposed to be pretty decent. It's still a shame they didn't polish it up a bit more.

Edit: Metacritic has it at 75 with 28 critic reviews in for Xb1 version, maybe I won't get it.
 
Gamespot gave it a 6/10

Review summarized: Combat=good, while Story and character interactions= bad to semi bad. Plot= ok but delivery is terrible. Ultimately Andromeda is only a half satisfying experience. Suffers from technical problems, frame rate drops, Audio issues, general buggy-ness.

Doesn't sounds like a AAA game anymore, another studio ruined by EA. RIP Bioware.
 
DDastardly00
Gamespot gave it a 6/10

Review summarized: Combat=good, while Story and character interactions= bad to semi bad. Plot= ok but delivery is terrible. Ultimately Andromeda is only a half satisfying experience. Suffers from technical problems, frame rate drops, Audio issues, general buggy-ness.

Doesn't sounds like a AAA game anymore, another studio ruined by EA. RIP Bioware.
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That's a real shame. I usually don't pay much attention to reviews, but this game has been getting a lot of negative attention. I still love the Mass Effect series, and have this game pre-ordered already, but I'm going into it expecting it to be a bit of a let down. I hope they patch the bugs and stuff, but you can't exactly fix other issues, like plot and characters.

What happened? I remember listening to the developers and the passion from Bioware on Mass Effect back at Pax East. You just knew their hearts when into the original trilogy. I get the impression this latest one is a cash grab more than anything. I know it's not the same team that made the originals, but with an established universe and style, how could they mess it up? So sad.
 
DDastardly00
Doesn't sounds like a AAA game anymore, another studio ruined by EA. RIP Bioware.
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I would like to say that's a surprise, but... well, it's EA. From the looks of it they needed to push back release by at least 6 months, but EA wanted it as one of their main games for their Early Access program. Naturally the brass at EA wanted it, so as it is EA has just thrown what's left of Bioware's reputation under the proverbial bus.

I was planning to get a hold of it once I get a new system up and running to replace the toaster of a laptop I currently own, but in addition to all the well documented problems from Early Access like borked animations and robot-like characters, the thought of going through dozens of near identical filler quests such as "go fetch" or "kill 3 x" (a la any generic MMO grinder) makes me shudder. Isn't that something they did in DA:I?

Going to wait for the User reviews, but I have a suspicion they won't be kind...
 

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